Sturm: The Cowboys’ biggest enemy in 2019 could easily be facing them in the mirror

Cotton

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By Bob Sturm Aug 14, 2019

After two weeks at Cowboys training camp and a lot of careful scrutiny, I am arriving at a rather ominous idea that won’t get out of my way.

It doesn’t relate to the new offense or how Dallas will finally find more touchdowns in the red zone. It isn’t about how the Cowboys defense takes the next step to excellence. I’m not even talking about the shaky kicker situation, the risky decisions at backup quarterback and how Travis Frederick recovers from his year-long illness.

From what I can tell, every discussion with Cowboys personnel or officials — on or off the record — seems to quickly gravitate to the numerous contract situations for the main characters in the 2019 Cowboys story. You may be aware that Ezekiel Elliott needs a new deal, and instead of being with his mates, he has elected to hold out in Cabo. We will overlook the mystical and somewhat haunting label Cabo has gained in Cowboys football lore over the years.

You may also be aware that Dak Prescott is approaching the end of the minuscule contract he signed as a fourth-round pick. He heads into contract talks with a huge idea of what his next contract would look like. Both sides — Prescott’s agency and the Cowboys — have hand-selected members of the media to carry their mail to the public, and both sides are quickly trying to control the narrative and to shoot down the information they do not find accurate from the other side. The likelihood of Prescott being guaranteed $100 million moving forward is pretty strong.

You may have heard a thing or two about the expiring deal that newly acquired star receiver Amari Cooper is seeking. He will happily play this entire season under his well-paid fifth-year option and consider the prospect of 2020 under the franchise tag or the possibility of unrestricted free agency in March at the age of 25. Cooper is about to break the bank as well.

These three deals could very well exceed $200 million in guaranteed money and $70 million in annual cap room for a franchise that is only allotted about $188 million for this year’s 53-man roster. Add to that the contract just presented to DeMarcus Lawrence, the pass rush king of Dallas, and you see four players consuming nearly 50 percent of the salary cap. The other 49 players must split the other half of the money, which currently largely goes to the offensive line of Tyron Smith, Travis Frederick, Zack Martin, and La’el Collins, who consume nearly half of the remaining $90 million on their own each season. If eight players seem to be somewhere in the 70-75 percent range of the entire cap, that leaves 43 other men to divide up the rest of a rapidly shrinking pie.

From there, those who might think about their own upcoming contract situations could easily include the following players: Maliek Collins, Byron Jones, Jaylon Smith, Anthony Brown and Jeff Heath. Several others will get there before you know it (Leighton Vander Esch). Then, a number of older vets might like to know their future after 2019, but are likely less unsettled because they have all made plenty of money and are getting near the end of the road. Jason Witten, Sean Lee, Randall Cobb and Robert Quinn are under contract for this season alone.

Byron Jones likely believes he could and should earn a deal that makes him one of the best-paid cornerbacks in all of football after his 2018 had some suggesting he was elite or close.

Jaylon Smith definitely believes he lost money in his draft and will be looking to make up for lost cash in his next deal.

Anthony Brown surely knows he has played more snaps than nearly anyone on the Cowboys defense and has done so at a level of play that suggests he deserves a significant raise over the relative peanuts he has been paid since his rookie year.

The list goes on and on.

Perhaps I forgot to mention the head coach’s contract is set to expire soon. Jason Garrett literally sits in the chair next to Jerry and Stephen Jones as they are asked about his future and his ability to reach whatever bar they may have set.

You may have noticed we have not mentioned that red-zone offense or the third-down defense or the new offensive scheme or the blitz packages that will use a Cover-2 shell pre-snap to keep the quarterback from seeing a weak-side blitzer.

Surely, the team and its personnel are capable of multi-tasking and accomplishing a collective football mission while everyone worries about their own personal agendas and futures. But the question would be whether any team — no matter how talented — in this National Football league can afford a split focus for the lion’s share of its training camp as everyone plays a game of musical chairs trying to snap up the remaining cash the Cowboys have available under the salary cap.

Yes, they all wear Cowboys helmets and uniforms. But how many members of the team are carefully tracking how these negotiations proceed and visiting privately about how these deals affect their own futures? How many rank-and-file Cowboys players have already resigned to the fact that in order to get their own future in order, they will have to go play for a team in 2020 that will actually have the money to pay them?

Do we think the wives don’t talk about this? Do we think the agents don’t talk about this? Or the parents? Or the friends?

This, of course, is the truth about every professional sports team on the planet. All of them are made up of individuals carving their own paths. But, given that I am familiar with how the sausage is normally made and also that I know how the tones of normal training camps often are felt, I must confess this particular camp has a disconcerting amount of noise about things that don’t relate to the field of play. That, as I understand things, is the actual point of the entire league. Which of its 32 teams can best assemble a roster to defeat its rivals? The Cowboys should have one of the best rosters in football in 2019. Trouble is, because so many of those contracts are expiring, everyone might be more focused on 2020-2025.

Again, I get it. There have been times in my life where my own personal future has been the only thing on my mind while at work, home or commuting in between. How is this going to work and why are my bosses being so difficult? Don’t they understand this is important to me and my family? Don’t they know this is my life?

They do, of course, but they are worried about their families and their lives. And my co-workers care about me, sure. But their families and their lives come first. Please don’t ask my co-worker if my contract is more important than his. And if the wives get together, I assume that won’t help when they exchange rumors they are hearing about so-and-so’s deal and how he knows he will be playing in Carolina or Seattle next year.

Bill Walsh’s book, “Finding the Winning Edge” is a textbook for many who love football and live in it. Inside he talks about how the game is changing before his very eyes (in the 1990’s) about how all of this will provide a challenge for a football team. Walsh discussed a number of issues:
  • Players will be even more preoccupied with “self.”
  • Agents will become dominating factors in the lives of the players they represent and will certainly act in a self-serving manner.
  • The personal commitment of players to the organization will diminish.
  • Because of the salary structure, the time, thought and values of athletes will be taken up by outside forces.
  • Because of the money involved, players will be even more concerned with their current situation as opposed to having a long-term perspective.
  • Player will make earning their money their number-one priority.
  • Players will be even more likely to compare their salaries with other players.
  • Players will re-prioritize their sense of loyalty and their allegiance will be given to their agents first, then to their friends and next to the media. In this regard, the team will not fare well.
Does any of this resonate or sound somewhat familiar?

This has been summarized by others over the years as the “culture of me” versus the fairy tale of “All for one and one for all!”

I am not making some call for a return to the “good old days” when players would ruin their bodies for little gain and rich owners would smile as their coffers were filled with profits. The players deserve every penny they get, and if competent starting quarterbacks receive $25-$35 million a season, then yes, Dak Prescott deserves to be in that range.

All teams have contract situations to deal with, but few have been asked to sort through this many situations at the same time while trying to prepare for a pivotal season.

My frustrations lie mostly with management, to be honest. They are responsible for making sure they keep the business and the team separated, and despite being aware of all of these looming situations arriving at roughly the same time, they were unable to accomplish hardly any business in the last 18 months. The one exception was the Lawrence deal, which they finally got done under the deadline of D-Law needing shoulder surgery and refusing to go under the knife until the deal was done.

The Cowboys had from January 12th until July 27th to do business and not have it leak onto the football field and it does not appear they got anything done. Other teams completed major contracts and kept them from dominating discussion in their training camps. Carson Wentz and Russell Wilson were able to get their deals. The Cowboys are in largely the same spot with all of these contracts that they were when the Rams game ended in January. This is no surprise, because we saw it with Dez Bryant and Lawrence and seemingly every deal this team has written in the last decade.

They tell us they won’t set the market, as if that is some point of pride. Instead, the market sets them.

To make matters even more upsetting, Stephen Jones has continuously suggested that his family won’t save a cent on these deals to put in their personal accounts. It will all go toward players, and therefore Player A is actually taking money from Player C when they ask for their money. He has actually explained that his best players should take less or the other players will suffer. It doesn’t matter if he is right or if this makes sense to small-business owners everywhere. It matters that he chose to say that publicly knowing he is making his best players take one for the team or lose the room when all of this could have been handled privately months ago.

That feels insane to me.

What sort of team-building message is that? Is Jones trying to cause even more animosity among the rank and file? Does he want a player thinking about how much he can’t stand the quarterback in the middle of a game because of a contract decision?

How about not talking publicly about matters like these? What is the benefit other than showing the world how tough we can be with players who actually want a fair slice of the pie?

We can blame the mean national media all we want. But how can the Jones family not see that taking tough public business stances during camp when the sole focus of the organization should be on the Lombardi Trophy is yet another reason why they might not be able to get their hands on that same trophy yet again?

How can welcoming the “culture of me” to camp be productive? And why would the team spend so much time leaking negotiations into the public? Do they think the gas can they are holding with the handful of matches might cause a fire?

I think this is a quality team. And, personally, I still believe that deadlines will make deals, and Prescott and Elliott will have their contracts by Week 1.

But, make no mistake, this isn’t about those two guys. This is about the entire organization asking themselves how this affects them personally. How this moves the plot in their own personal Game of Thrones. Are the players to blame? Sure. But, the organization has a responsibility to set the tone. In other words, don’t stoke the fire. Stomp it out. Negotiate in February and in private. It works for many teams.

They can issue the snappy sweatshirts or signs in the facility with a huge font that proclaims “THE TEAM” all they want. This camp has given me the feeling that the overall theme is more like “ME” from many.

I think the organization could and should handle this with far more focus and professional decorum. They have the most at stake as they try to return to the league’s heavyweights. The players have plenty at stake but also have 31 other potential places of employment. The team sets the tone and could easily say that they plan on conducting all business in the offseason so as not to confuse the roster about what the priority once football season begins: the team.

The Cowboys could do much better in conducting their business (not that they asked me) so this doesn’t turn into 53 players with 53 personal agendas this season. I fear it is headed that way at this current rate and wonder how the next few weeks might actually decide how the season goes from simple questions of unity and shared focus.

I really hope I am wrong.
 

Simpleton

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The public comments regarding contracts/negotiations from the two rednecks who run this team are beyond mind-numbing. There is literally no reason to say the shit they say other than they like hearing themselves talk.
 

Chocolate Lab

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The public comments regarding contracts/negotiations from the two rednecks who run this team are beyond mind-numbing. There is literally no reason to say the shit they say other than they like hearing themselves talk.
As various radio people have pointed out, the Joneses both said at that opening press conference that they were addressing the contract situation this one time and then they wouldn't mention it again.

Since then, they've talked publicly about it virtually every single day.

Sturm said:
But how can the Jones family not see that taking tough public business stances during camp when the sole focus of the organization should be on the Lombardi Trophy is yet another reason why they might not be able to get their hands on that same trophy yet again?
I hate to break it to you, Bob... but the organization hasn't had a sole focus on the Lombardi Trophy for a very long time.
 

Genghis Khan

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I don't understand the criticism of Stephen talking about team friendly deals helping make a better team. He's not just right, he's really really right.

Consider the following deals and potential deals: 1. Dak, 2. Zeke, 3. Lawrence, 4. Cooper, 5. Maliek, 6. Byron, 7. Jaylon Smith.

If each player averages a sacrifice of 2 million per year, that's 14 million A YEAR extra room under the cap. That's at least one or two more good players on the team. It could easily be the difference between winning and losing, a super bowl and a second round exit, or playoffs and no playoffs. Hell, if they sacrifice just 1 million a year that's another good player on the team.

Meanwhile, more success brings more endorsements, lucrative post retirement jobs like broadcasting, better potential for future contracts, and hell even better potential for legacy rewards like the HOF. Zeke, Dak, Lawrence, and even Cooper and Smith have real shots at the hall if they are winning super bowls.

The difference between say, 130 million or 120 million for Dak, or 70 versus 60 million for Zeke, etc., will make zero difference in their lifestyle. Or that of their kids for that matter. Not to mention Dak will have another contract after this that could easily double that, and Zeke could also (especially if he signs this year).

I understand getting as much as you can, and it would be different if they were stuck on a shitty team or one that would just pocket whatever savings they give. But these things don't happen in a vacuum.

And as a compromise maybe the team can raise the guarantees higher than what might be standard.

I hope they can figure this shit out because I think the potential is there if they can keep all or most of them together.
 

Simpleton

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Stephen's logic is 100% right, especially for the star QB/RB/WR, if they sacrifice a marginal amount now and win a Super Bowl it could pay off for the next 20+ years. Just look at how guys like Aikman and Irvin are still in the national spotlight, and I'm sure they'll make money off local Dallas/Texas-area endorsements until they die. With that said, those are comments Stephen should be making privately, and my criticism is more geared towards these inane comments like "Dak deserves as much as anybody" or "Elliott's deal starts at Gurley and we'll go from there".
 

Cowboysrock55

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Stephen's logic is 100% right, especially for the star QB/RB/WR, if they sacrifice a marginal amount now and win a Super Bowl it could pay off for the next 20+ years. Just look at how guys like Aikman and Irvin are still in the national spotlight, and I'm sure they'll make money off local Dallas/Texas-area endorsements until they die. With that said, those are comments Stephen should be making privately, and my criticism is more geared towards these inane comments like "Dak deserves as much as anybody" or "Elliott's deal starts at Gurley and we'll go from there".
Yeah players rarely see it that way. But an argument could be made that a QB who signs a mega deal and losses the talent around him might be out of a job when his performance dips. Leaving many millions of that contract still on the table. Same for a RB who eats up so much money that the line in front of him isn't so stellar.

Totally a hypothetical but imagine if Dak took so much money that you have nothing left for Cooper. Dak's numbers dip to the before Cooper level, how far into that contract would he really make it? Sometimes it takes a little sacrifice for the long term success of actually collecting everything in that contract. Outside of the signing bonus players have to perform to collect the rest. And a player's success in the NFL is directly tied to the guys around him. Again this is sort of the extreme example but I guess agents don't really care. They just want to collect their percentage out of the biggest amount possible. And I'm sure some would argue that it's easy for me to say making my six figures a year until I retire. Everyone likes to talk about players like they need to get every penny in a contract because it's their living for the rest of their lives. But there is more to the picture than just the size of a contract.
 

Chocolate Lab

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Guys, I think it's very rare for athletes (Brady) to think about all that other stuff. They want as much guaranteed money as they can get, and anything else is secondary.

Steve may be right, but it is a little off-putting for a bazillionaire to be talking about employees leaving money on the table for the good of the team.
 

deadrise

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I don't understand the criticism of Stephen talking about team friendly deals helping make a better team. He's not just right, he's really really right.

Consider the following deals and potential deals: 1. Dak, 2. Zeke, 3. Lawrence, 4. Cooper, 5. Maliek, 6. Byron, 7. Jaylon Smith.

If each player averages a sacrifice of 2 million per year, that's 14 million A YEAR extra room under the cap. That's at least one or two more good players on the team. It could easily be the difference between winning and losing, a super bowl and a second round exit, or playoffs and no playoffs. Hell, if they sacrifice just 1 million a year that's another good player on the team.

Meanwhile, more success brings more endorsements, lucrative post retirement jobs like broadcasting, better potential for future contracts, and hell even better potential for legacy rewards like the HOF. Zeke, Dak, Lawrence, and even Cooper and Smith have real shots at the hall if they are winning super bowls.

The difference between say, 130 million or 120 million for Dak, or 70 versus 60 million for Zeke, etc., will make zero difference in their lifestyle. Or that of their kids for that matter. Not to mention Dak will have another contract after this that could easily double that, and Zeke could also (especially if he signs this year).

I understand getting as much as you can, and it would be different if they were stuck on a shitty team or one that would just pocket whatever savings they give. But these things don't happen in a vacuum.

And as a compromise maybe the team can raise the guarantees higher than what might be standard.

I hope they can figure this shit out because I think the potential is there if they can keep all or most of them together.
OMG, did you read the column? It's every man for himself, fuck the team, fuck the SB and future endorsement deals.

Or maybe they could all have a meeting at someone's house -- Dak, Zeke, Lawrence, Cooper, Maliek, Byron, and Jaylon Smith -- and decide among themselves how much less each of them would take in order to win multiple SBs. They could all shake hands on it and swear they were brothers to the end. And then go out and conquer the NFL. What planet are you on?

Meanwhile, this is a team that hasn't sniffed a SB in a quarter century. Why would these players imagine that now will be any different? You've got two redneck yahoos running things from the front office and an Alfred E. Neuman 'what me worry?' head coach.

And before you go referring to being stuck on a "shitty" teams remember that the Dallas Cowboys haven't won dog shit for a very, very long time. They're pretty much a shitty team.
 

L.T. Fan

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Yeah these guys are acting like prima donnas of football and they have only won a single playoff game in their football existence.
 

Cowboysrock55

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Guys, I think it's very rare for athletes (Brady) to think about all that other stuff. They want as much guaranteed money as they can get, and anything else is secondary.

Steve may be right, but it is a little off-putting for a bazillionaire to be talking about employees leaving money on the table for the good of the team.
It might be offputting but it's not like Jerry gets a choice of following the salary cap rules. He is dealing with a set pool of money.
 

GShock

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It might be offputting but it's not like Jerry gets a choice of following the salary cap rules. He is dealing with a set pool of money.
Eh, I've seen enough salary cap "magic" to agree with Ickes:

 
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